Graphene oxide, an effective nanoadditive for a development of hollow fiber nanocomposite membrane with antifouling properties

Abstract

Abstract A series of hollow fiber ( HF ) membranes made from nanocomposites of polyethersulfone ( PES ) and graphene oxide ( GO ) at GO concentrations of 0.2%, 0.5%, and 1.0% were prepared by the dry–wet spinning process. The structure and the properties of as‐prepared HF membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy ( SEM ); atomic force microscopy ( AFM ); measurements of contact angle, zeta potential, molecular weight cut‐off ( MWCO ), and porosity; thermogravimetric analysis ( TGA ); and tensile testing. Long‐term filtration tests were performed with the proteins bovine serum albumin ( BSA ), pepsin, trypsin, and lysozyme, which are common model organic foulants used in membrane fouling studies. The results showed that HF membrane made from PES / GO nanocomposite dope had a water permeability of 30 ± 1.5 Lm −2 hr −1 bar −1 , which is an increase of approximately 36% compared to that of a PES HF membrane. Among the membranes containing GO , the membrane with a 0.5 wt% GO loading exhibited the best antifouling performance, that is, this membrane recovered more than approximately 96% of its initial pure water flux, demonstrating a high resistance to the irreversible fouling. In addition, the same membrane showed an improvement in MWCO , an approximately 15% increase in porosity, along with optimum mechanical and thermal properties.